As part of an exciting, high-profile speaker series for students at Long Beach State, November 5th marks the welcome of former CIA Operative Valerie Plame.
The wife of Ambassador Joseph Wilson, Plame joined the Central Intelligence Agency at the age of 22, and it has been widely reported that she worked undercover on several overseas assignments in areas related to counterterrorism and on counterproliferation of weapons of mass destruction.
As most of us remember, in July 2003 Ambassador Wilson spoke out against the Bush Administration’s false claim that Iraq had sought nuclear material in Africa, which had been a primary justification for going to war with Iraq. In a move that destroyed Plame’s career and allegedly jeopardized national security, administration officials leaked to reporters the name of Wilson’s wife, Valerie Plame Wilson, and her classified CIA status.
Following the leak, the CIA requested that the Justice Department conduct an investigation into whether the White House violated federal laws by revealing the identity of one of its undercover employees in retaliation against Ambassador Wilson. The Justice Department responded with the appointment of a special counsel, Patrick Fitzgerald. Evidence collected by Fitzgerald has shown that at least two Bush administration officials, Karl Rove and Lewis “Scooter” Libby, Jr., discussed Mrs. Wilson’s employment at the CIA with reporters. Last October, a grand jury indicted Mr. Libby, former Chief of Staff and assistant for National Security Affairs to U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney, on charges of obstruction of justice, perjury, and making false statements.
The specific topics to be covered by Plame are unknown to us, but her visit should provide poignant political reflections based on her career and intimate experience with justice over the last five years.